Cable layer



March 2l, 1950 R. G, LE TQURNEAU CABLE LAYER 3 Sheets-sheet 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1944 INVENTOR m E TM u e L @.7 L

S Y E N R C T T. A

March 21, 1950 R. G. LE TOURNEAU 2,501,062

CABLE LAYER Filed Dec. 16, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS R- G. LE TOURNEAU March 21, 195o CABLE LAYER Filed Dec'.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 muv INVENTOR u m. u e L G R ATTORNEYS Patented Mar.

CABLE LAYER Robert G. Le Tourneau, Peoria, Ill., assignor to R. G. Le Tourneau, Inc., Stockton, Calif., a corporation of California Application December 16, 1944, Serial No. 568,417

s claims. l

This invention is directed to, and it is an object to provide, an improved implement for laying underground cables, such as telephone cables or the like; the implement being operative, with its advance, to open a continuous trench and to deposit the cable therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cable layer which comprises, in novel assembly, a body supported for tractor-drawn movement along the ground, a trench opening plow and cable laying shank unit fixed on and depending from the body for ground penetration, and a cable reel holder mounted on the body in position to feed cable to said shank from the reel.

Another object is to support the body by a wheel structure which is adjustable to vary the position of the body above ground whereby to control the depth to which the cable is laid, or to raise the plow and cable laying shank unit clear of the ground for transport of the implement from place to place.

An additional object is to mount the reel holder on the body for movement between a raised position supporting the reel for properly feeding the cable to the laying shank, and a lowered position at which the heavy reels can be changed without the necessity of lifting the same oi the ground; said reel holder being power actuate between said positions.

It is also an object of this invention to provide novel means cooperating with the cable reelv operative to prevent the latter from overrunning when the cable is paying out therefrom, and to maintain proper tension on the cable as laid in the trench.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device, and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views: i

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the implement; its inoperative or transport position being shown in dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the implement.

Figure 3 is an enlarged section on line 3--3 of Fig. 2. y Figure 4 is an enlarged cross section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional 55 eleva-tion of the means employed to lock the reel to the friction drag unit.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the cable layer comprises a heavy-duty, flat and substantially rectangular body I elongated transversely of the direction of travel. A rigid draft tongue 2 is xed in connection with the body at the front and centrally between its ends; said draft tongue projecting forwardly for coupling in draft relation with a tractor, indicated diagrammatically at 3, by means of a hitch I.

The body I is supported from the ground by means of a pair of transversely spaced ground engaging wheels 5 disposed ahead of the body on opposite sides of the tongue 2, said wheels being carried on spindles 6 which project laterally out from the forward ends of corresponding legs 1. The legs 1 are supported for vertical swinging movement or adjustment by means of pivotal mounts 8 secured in connection with the body at the front thereof. The legs 'l are connected together for adjustment as a unit by means of an upstanding, inverted U-shaped yoke 9 xed at its lower ends in connection with corresponding ones of said legs l. The assembly of legs 1 and yoke 9 is strengthened by diagonal braces I0 which extend at an upward and rearward incline from legs l to connection with the corresponding legs of said yoke. It will be seen that upon swinging movement of the yoke 9 in one direction or the other, the wheels 5 will be either raised or lowered, eiecting a corresponding adjustment of the body I relative to the ground, for the purpose which will hereinafter appear. Such movement of the yoke 9 is accomplished by means of a block and tackle system II extending between a multiple sheave block I2 on the tongue 2 adjacent its forward end and another sheave block I3 fixed centrally on the top of the yoke 9; the block and tackle system II including an operating or pull vreach I4 which leads forwardly vto one drum` of a conventional, multiple-drum power control unit or winch (not shown) mounted on the tractor at the rear and driven by the tractor engine.

A trench opening plow and cable laying shank unit, indicated generally at I5, depends from the body I adjacent the rear thereof and centrally between itsl sides; said 'unit I5 including a forwardly and downwardly inclined standard I6 in the form of a heavy-duty bar fitted at its lower end with a shoe or plow I1.v To the rear of standard I6 the unit I5 includes a cable laying shank I8. 'I'he shank I8 has formed therein a tubular guideway I9 which extends, from its open upper end 20, at a forward and downward incline corresponding, for some distance, generally to the incline of standard'l6, and thence curves rearwardly and opens, at its lower end 2|, in a rearward and substantially horizontal direction; the lower end of the guideway I6 being disposed slightly above the working plane of the shoe or plow I1. The upper end 20 and the lower end 2| of the tubular guideway I8 are flared, as shown, to facilitate cable entry and cable delivery, respectively, from the cable layinsshank I3.

The unit I5 may be rigidly secured in connection with the body I by any suitable means, which is here shown as anopening in the body through which the corresponding part of the standard I6 and shank |8 project upwardly; there being a cross pin 22 extending through the shank I6 between upstanding ears 23 on the body, while a cross bar 24 extends through the standard I 6 and abuts rearwardly against an adjacent portion of the bottom part of body I. When the unit I5 is mounted as described the upper end 20 is exposed at the top and rear of the body I for reception of the cable 25 from the reel 26; the latter being normally supported above and rearwardly of the body I by a reel holder, indicated generally at 21. Such reel holder comprises a pair of transversely spaced parallel arms 28 which are disposed above the rear end portion of the body I and project rearwardly therefrom; said arms 28 being fixed together by cross members 29 and supported for vertical swinging movement as a unit by means of a pair of downwardly converging legs 30 fixed on each arm 28 at the rear. The legs 30 are pivotally connected at their lower ends, as at 3|, on the body I at the top and adjacent its rear end. The reel 26 is rotatably supported in the reel holder on a cross shaft 32 removably carried in journals 33.

The above described reel holder is normally maintained in operative position with the arms 28 substantially horizontal and the reel 26 in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, by

means of a tension link 34 connected between the reel holder at the top and front and thence extending at a forward and downward incline to connection with the tongue 2 adjacent its rear end. In this position of the reel holder the cable pays freely from the reel 26 into the tubular guideway I9.

When the device is in operation the body is lowered, by adjustment of the wheels 5, to provide the desired penetration of the trench opening plow and cable laying shank unit I5 into the ground. Such adjustment of the wheels is of course accomplished through the medium of the block and tackle system Il and the upstanding swingable yoke 9. The unit I5, with advance of the implement, cuts a relatively narrow trench into which the cable 25, previously anchored at its free end in the start of the trench, is fed from the lower end 2| of the tubular guideway I9 in the shank I8. This operation is clearly illustrated in Figs. l and 3.

For transport of the implement the wheels are adjusted relative to the body so that the latter is elevated to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, at which time the plow and cablelaying shank unit I3 are clear of the ground; the yoke then being in its foremost position and is held in said position independently of the block and tackle system II by meam of attachment brackets 35 and 35a, on the sheave block together, as shown by the dotted lines at 35h in Fis. l.-

In order to prevent the reel 26 from overrunning when the implement is in operation, and for the purpose of maintaining the proper tension on the cable as it is laid, the following friction drag arrangement is provided:

A relatively large diameter pulley 36 is turnafbly mounted on cross shaft 32 beyond one end of the reel 26; said pulley being detachably connected to the reel to prevent relative rotation therebetween by means of a strap 31 which removably anchors at one end in a socket 38 on the side of the pulley 36 adjacent the reel, and removably engaged at its other end. by means of a right-angle nger 39. in a socket in the adjacent end of the reel.

An endless, friction cord 40 of rope or the like extends between the pulley 36 and another relatively smaller pulley 4| disposed ahead of but in alinement with said pulley 36; the pulley 4I being carried in a yoke 42 mounted for adjustment radially of the pulley 36 whereby to vary the tension on friction cord 4l.

With the above arrangement, and with proper tension on the friction cord 40, a friction drag is applied to the reel 25, which prevents it from overrunning when the implement is laying cable. and also maintains the desired tension on the cable as laid.

When the reel 26 is empty and it is desired to replace it with a full reel, the link 34 is detached and the reel holder 21 is permitted to rock backward until the reel 26 rests upon the ground. With the reel holder 21 in this position the cross shaft 32 is readily removable and a new reel may be rolled into place and mounted on the reel holder with ease. Movement of the reel holder from its normal operative position to its lowered position, for replacement of the reel, is accomplished through the medium of a cable 43 which leads rearwardly from another drum of the tractor mounted power control unit or winch and extends over a sheave block 44 fixed centrally on the forward and upper end of said reel holder; the cable thence extending forwardly and downwardly to connection with an anchor 45 on the tongue. With paying out of the cable 43 the reel holder will lower to the reel changing position, as shown in Fig. 3, while subsequent shortening of the cable will swing the reel holder upwardly to its operative position, with the reel in elevated position above and to the rear of the body for proper feeding of the cable 25 into the cable-laying shank Il.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as substantially fulillls the cajects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, the followingis claimed as new and useful and upon which Letters Patent is desired:

l. A cable laying implement comprising a wheel supported body, a trench opening plow mounted on and depending from the body, a reel holder mounted on the body, and means to guide cable from the reel into the trench upon advance of the implement; said reel holder com- I3 and longue 2, respectively, detchably bOlted 75 prlsing a unitary frame having a nair of spaced,

parallel arms projecting at one end in overhanging relation to the ground, means to removably and rotatably support a cable reel between said arms adjacent said one end thereof, means pivoting the frame on the body for vertical swinging movement of said arms from a position with the k reel on the ground to a position with the reel elevated to feed to said guide means, and means to swing the frame between said positions.

2. A cable layer as in claim 1 in which said frame includes depending legs at the ends of the arms opposite the reel, said legs being pivoted to the body and upstanding therefrom, and a pull cable connected to the frame above said pivots.

3. A cable laying implement comprising a body having a trench opening plow depending therefrom, cable guide means depending from the body to the rear of the plow to guide cable from above the body into the trench, a pair of transversely spaced, vertically swingable legs pivotally mounted on and projecting forwardly from the body, wheels on said legs, adjustable means normally maintaining said legs in xed position relative to the body, a pair of transverselyspaced vertically swingable arms pivotally mounted on and projecting rearwardly from the body, means to support a reel between the outer end of said arms, said arms being swingable from a position with the reel on the ground to a position with the reel elevated to a point to feed cable to said cable guide means, and means to swing the arms as a unit between said positions.

ROBERT G. LE TOURNEAU.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

